For many applications, data is stored in a database as a time series of data values. The data retrieved from the database may need to be adjusted for events. In particular, it may be desirable to apply an interval-based adjustment (IBA) to the data.
Examples of interval-based adjustments include the application of stock splits and currency conversions. Such adjustments may also be used to reflect dividend distributions from stocks and mutual funds. These adjustment triggers are typically infrequent events.
To reduce rounding and precision errors, the time series data is typically stored as unadjusted data values. When the data is stored in its unadjusted form, the data would be adjusted on retrieval to reflect the adjustments. For example, on retrieval of stock prices, one may like to see all data adjusted based on the current price taking into consideration the stock's split and dividend history. Using the adjusted data, the performance of the security over time can be accurately ascertained and presented to the user. Typically, the adjustments are applied using custom programming.